The Way of the Warrior-Wizard
Chapter 18: Woe to the Conquered

Duncan was lying down on a couch in the study, his eyes closed. He lowered one hand so that he could feel the warm fur of his dog Davy, who was lying on the floor right next to Duncan. He felt Davy’s reassuring tongue lap gently over his fingers.

“At least I have my dog with me if anything goes awry,” he thought to himself, “it was an excellent idea of Caleb’s.”

His mother Kyra was sitting off to one side, knitting purposefully. Although she was here to supervise the process, Yvonne had given Kyra strict instructions not to interfere with the regression once it was in progress. Kyra had therefore brought her knitting into the study to keep her mind preoccupied so that she would be less inclined to intrude if her anxiety levels went up. The rest of the family had also been severely commanded not to interrupt the regression in any way. Hamish kept himself busy with crosswords, and the children had gone on a hike with Luanne and Jack.

The house was silent. Yvonne instructed Duncan to breathe deeply and slowly, and then she took him on a meditative journey which involved tightening and relaxing various aspects of his body, from his feet to his head. She also did a “chakra balancing” exercise which involved clearing and balancing the seven areas of energy in the body: the Root, the Sacral, the Solar Plexus, the Heart, the Throat, the Third Eye and the Crown chakras.

She then blessed him and enclosed him in a protective “Egg of Light” before beginning the actual hypnosis.

“Duncan,” she said in a tone soft and soothingly low, “Please understand that time is not linear. Past, present, and future are all happening at the same “time” and in the same “space”—in the Timeless, Spaceless Now. This may seem contradictory to you, but you do not need to understand all of it with your rational mind. Let that aspect of you rest for a period of time. You will not lose it, but rather you are putting it aside for now. You can pick it back up again after we are finished. You possess the humility to respect that which is seemingly too large and grand for any of us to truly comprehend. Know that you are worthy of the honour of knowing your lives. You are being asked now to travel back to that life which will instruct you best on what you need to know for this present life-time.”

Yvonne began a slow count, beginning at ten and slowly progressing backwards until she finally breathed the word “one”.

Duncan felt as though he were in two different realms at once. He was aware of himself on the couch listening to Yvonne’s voice, but he was also experiencing himself as...as someone else?

He looked down at himself and was amazed to discover a strong, muscular adult male body. He was wearing the armour of a Roman soldier. At his side, in a sheath, was a weapon which seemed to be a short sword. To Duncan’s consternation, he realized that its purpose was to stab, and perhaps even to kill, another Human being. He remembered that this particular weapon was called a “gladius”. He hoped fervently that he would not be entering any arenas to fight in the barbaric Roman “circuses”. He realized as he thought this that his alter ego had probably fought a great number of battles, and it would have been necessary for him to have been successful at killing his opponents; or otherwise he would not still be in existence.

At this particular moment, however, the army to which he belonged was not involved in a battle. Rather, the Roman soldiers, together with a number of ragged people who looked as though they had been taken in battle as slaves, were building a great stone wall. It was not yet completed, but Duncan recognized that it was most likely Hadrian’s Wall, which would place the scene as being in Brittania in the time period between A.D. 117—A.D. 138, when the Emperor Hadrian had ruled Rome. The Roman Empire would therefore be at a high point in terms of its power in the ancient world. The Wall itself, Duncan remembered, was built between the years A.D. 122 until about A.D. 130.

His alter ego approached the as-yet-unfinished wall, staring ahead intently. He realized that he was clutching his unsheathed gladius; but why would he need his battle-sword for the construction of a wall? Duncan knew the answer just as if he himself were thinking the thoughts of this barbaric soldier. He had the uncomfortable feeling that the Roman soldier whom he seemed to inhabit was intent on replaceing a certain person...and killing him.

He heard Yvonne’s voice guiding him forward, unaware of his less than honourable intentions.

“I believe I am going to...kill a man,” he reported to her, as he advanced toward a particularly old and ragged-looking slave, possibly a Celtic.

Without hesitation, he looked into the green eyes of the old man. The identity that was Duncan stared at the grizzled, balding man in shock. Although the man had a different appearance than Hamish, Duncan recognized him as his present-day Father! There was another, older soldier nearby who appeared to be a commander of some sort, possibly a Centurion.

“This I promise you, Gaius,” the Centurion said firmly in latin, “You will not be punished if you slay him. It will all be for the glory of Rome, and the soldier’s honour.”

“Gaius”/Duncan recognized this Centurion as someone named Marcus, and he was evidently a mentor of some sort. Strangely, he also recognized this man as none other than Professor Donaldson!

Marcus abruptly turned his back on Gaius and strode purposefully in another direction, as if Gaius and the slave had been a momentary distraction from his other, more important duties.

The old man stared at Gaius, unrepentant, as the soldier unsheathed his gladius.

“So—finally I have found you, Avulus,” Gaius said in a menacing tone. Duncan could feel Gaius’ anger at the old man, but there was another emotion bubbling under the surface of his rage...could the barbarian that was himself possibly be feeling compassion?

Duncan could feel the conflict within Gaius. Obviously, he had a close bond with the old slave; but he was also angry about a girl...his older sister...who had become intimately involved with Avulus.

“I would run off with her a thousand times, so please you, Master!” Avulus called, “So kill me. Finish me off!”

“Where is she?” Gaius snarled at him, placing the blade of his gladius against Avulus’ throat, “What have you done with Adriana?”

Duncan knew without having been told that “Adriana” had been his present-day mother, Kyra.

“She died many years ago of a fever,” Avulus told him sadly, “and I have no more use for my life...so go ahead, Gaius. Vae Victis...woe to the conquered ones! Your revenge is at hand at last!”

“Vae victis...” Gaius murmured as he raised his gladius, intending to stab the old man in the heart.

“Wait!” a young boy called out, running in between the two men and placing his body in front of Avulus, “This is my father, and your sister Adriana was my mother! I am therefore your nephew, Gaius. I ask you to have mercy on this old one here. He cared for my mother in her dying days—he never left her side. Spare him, noble warrior!”

Duncan could feel the wrath leaving Gaius’ heart as he, the ‘noble warrior’, put down his sword. As he did so, he could feel another sword penetrating his back, and a searing pain raged through his body. As he fell to the ground stunned, he turned to see his own blood on the Centurion’s weapon.

“Vae victis!” he heard his commander shouting, as the soldiers stopped their work and gathered around them, “Woe unto you, Gaius, for you are naught but a coward. You have failed to punish this slave for his misdeed, and thus you have failed to restore glory and honour to your family...you are unworthy to serve as a Roman soldier! Let all your compatriots who have witnessed your failure learn from it.”

As he began to lose consciousness, he could hear his fellow soldiers yelling, “Vae victis! Woe to the conquered...and Glory to Rome!”

Duncan had become so completely immersed in the interaction that he had forgotten that he was supposed to be following Yvonne’s gentle guidance.

“Duncan,” her far-off voice commanded him, “You will proceed to the Time Between Lives...all is well now. Your life as Gaius has ended, and you have nothing to fear.”